Ten Summers
by Berrie Salamander
Summary: Ten summers in the lives of Harry Potter's children, from the summer when James gets his Hogwarts letter to the summer before Lily's last year at the school.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so this was just a little experiment. I wasn't sure about this story, so I put a chapter up anyway, to see how it goes, even though I've got way too many things on the go at the minute. I hope you enjoy!**

Ten Summers

_July 2016_

'Mum! Mum!'

'Albus? What's wrong?'

Drawn by the cries of her youngest son, Ginny rushed into the living room. James and Albus were standing in the centre of the room, and James had Albus in a headlock. Lily was watching from the sofa, silently giggling.

'James, Albus, break it up!' exclaimed Ginny, rushing over and pulling them apart. 'Why on earth were you doing that to your brother, James?'

'Because he tried to steal my letter!' James replied hotly, glaring at his brother. 'I haven't even had a chance to open it yet.'

Ginny looked over at Albus. 'Sorry mum,' he mumbled. 'I just wanted to see.'

'You can have a look after your brother,' she assured him. 'Well, James? Is it _that_ letter? Is it your Hogwarts letter?'

James nodded, a huge grin on his face. Ginny beamed at him.

'Oh, this is excellent! The letters have come quite early this year, I wasn't expecting… but this is wonderful news. Can you wait to open it until your dad gets home? He won't want to miss this.'

'I don't mind waiting,' shrugged James, the letter held tightly in his hands.

'Why don't you three go outside and make the most of the sunshine?' Ginny suggested. 'Or you could go round to Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione's, tell them you got your letter…'

'I think I'll see if Fred's free,' said James at last. 'See if he got his letter too! Are either of you coming?' he added to Albus and Lily.

'I'll come!' replied Lily, but Albus shook his head.

'Bye mum!' James and Lily called as they raced out of the living room, heading for the fireplace in the kitchen. Ginny and Albus were left alone.

'Are you all right Al?' she asked him.

'I guess…' he sighed. 'I suppose that letter _is_ his letter of acceptance? He hasn't got into trouble with them already, maybe?'

Ginny laughed. 'I think it's an acceptance letter. Not even your brother could get into trouble that quickly.'

'You'd be surprised,' replied the ten year old.

'Hey Al, would you like to play Quidditch with me in the garden?' Ginny asked suddenly.

'No, thanks. I might go upstairs and read.'

Ginny's face fell. Sunlight was poring through the window, and the room was sweltering in the midday sun.

'Well, if you change your mind, I'll be in the study,' she told him. She left the room, and James and Lily came hurtling in.

'Fred and his family are all out,' James explained. 'I'll have to see him tomorrow. Want to play Quidditch Lily, Al?'

Lily nodded fervently, while Albus rolled his eyes.

'Is that all our family can think to do?' he muttered, but no one heard him.

All day, the letter went where James went. If he couldn't hold it, he would place it on the nearest surface. He certainly wasn't letting Albus or Lily hold it for him.

'You might smudge it,' he said when Lily had offered to carry it. 'This is very precious.'

Albus and Lily couldn't believe it. James had never taken this much pride in any of his possessions.

At last, at about four in the afternoon, Harry returned home. The five Potters gathered in the living room as James finally opened the letter.

'What does it say James?' asked Albus eagerly.

'It says: _"Dear Mr Potter. We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…"_'

James read out the whole letter. By the end of it, Ginny was nearly in tears. She walked over to her son and gave him a tight hug.

'Mum!' James exclaimed, going red in embarrassment.

'I'm sorry James, I'm just so proud of you,' Ginny sniffed. 'My baby's off to Hogwarts, I can't believe you're already eleven!'

'Yeah, well, I am,' James said, finally succeeding in getting free of his mother. He turned to face Harry, who was beaming down at him.

'Well done James,' he said, and he too hugged his son, though not quite as tightly as Ginny had.

'Oh, and James, everyone's going to the Burro tomorrow, so you'll be able to see Fred then,' Ginny added.

'When are we going to Diagon Alley to get my stuff?' James asked. 'I can't wait to get my wand! And an owl, I want a snowy one - '

'Come upstairs with me, James, and I'll give you something right now,' said Harry.

'Um, dad, I don't really want anything second hand,' James said as they entered the study. Harry laughed.

'Trust me, you'll want this,' he said as he opened one of the drawers of the desk. He pulled out an old, ragged piece of parchment, and handed it to James.

'Is this what I think it is?' James breathed, scanning the empty parchment. 'The Marauder's Map?'

'It is indeed,' replied Harry. 'When you have your wand, tap this and say "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" and a complete map of Hogwarts appears. Now, I don't want you constantly going out at night and getting in trouble, but I feel you should have it.'

'Thank you dad!' James exclaimed, and he bounded from the room, the map in his hands.

_August 2016_

James would be going to Hogwarts tomorrow. All his belongings were in his trunk, and his new snowy owl, Hooter, was locked up in her cage. He was holding his wand, which was oak, ten and a half inches, and with the centre of dragon heartstring, and poring over the Marauder's Map, which he had already shown to Fred. The sky outside had turned a brilliant orange, a last wave goodbye from the summer. Albus entered the living room, and went to sit next to his brother.

'Have fun tomorrow,' he said solemnly.

'Don't worry, I will.'

'Are you nervous about the Sorting?'

'Not at all. I know I'll be in Gryffindor, along with Fred. And we can go on the Quidditch team, and find new passageways, and everything like that…' a dreamy look crossed James's face.

'You won't be able to get on the team 'til next year,' Albus pointed out. Then he sighed. 'I wish I was going.'

'You'll get your turn next year,' said James. 'Is that why you've been acting a bit sulky this summer? Are you jealous of me?'

'No…' Albus muttered, going slightly red.

'You shouldn't be,' James assured him. 'To tell you the truth, I'm a little bit nervous.'

'You shouldn't be nervous,' said Albus, with a small smile. 'Hogwarts was made for people like you.'

And he got up, and left James in the living room, the Marauder's Map still open, the corridors and rooms completely empty of students.


	2. Chapter 2

July 2017

After weeks of downpour, at long last the sun rose high over the Burrow, and heat began to wash over the various Weasley family members as they descended on the crooked house.

"Oh, I can't wait to get there; I can't wait to tell everyone!" Albus exclaimed as the Potters lined up by the fireplace in the kitchen.

"Yeah, it will be great to see everyone," agreed James. "I haven't seen Fred, or Dom, or Lucy, in _ages_…"

"What do you mean? You saw them a couple of weeks ago!" said Albus. "While you were at Hogwarts… oh, I'm so excited… ha, James, my letter came earlier than yours did!"

"Calm down, Al!" said Harry, grinning at his youngest son. "You can go first, if you like, but just remember: James's letter was only about a day later than your letter."

"It's not a competition," Lily sniffed; she was now jealous of both her brothers for going to Hogwarts.

"Lily's right," Ginny added, missing the jealousy in Lily's voice.

"Let's just drop it," said Harry hurriedly. "Come on Al, you first."

Harry's youngest son stepped delicately into the green flames, grabbed a handful of powder, and shouted: "The Burrow!"

And he vanished.

"Who wants to go next?" asked Harry.

"I will," replied James, and, like his brother, he had soon vanished.

"Lily? You next?"

Lily nodded, and repeated her brothers' actions. Then, it was Ginny and Harry's turn.

As soon as Albus appeared in the Burrow living room, there was a small cry of "Al!" and he was being hugged by his grandmother.

"Al, it's so good to see you here, we haven't seen you for such a long time… James!" Molly added as the older Potter fell onto the rug by the fireplace. "How are you? Did you have a good summer term? You didn't write to us as much as you had done the first term… Lily!"

It continued in this vein, with Molly greeting each of her grandchildren enthusiastically as they appeared, and greeting her children and their spouses possibly even more so. When the last person, Ron, had arrived, she disappeared into the kitchen, and all the Weasleys and Potters made their way outside into the sunshine.

"Anyone for a game of Quidditch?" asked Fred, eyebrow raised.

"Do you really have to ask?" replied Roxanne, a huge grin on her face. "I'm playing as chaser!"

"We'll be the beaters," said Fred, gesturing at himself and Lily, who beamed at him. Undoubtedly, they were the best beaters out of all of them, and Fred would be trying for that position in September.

Eventually, it was decided that they would play five aside. On one team they had Fred as the beater, James, Hugo and Dominique as chasers, and Molly as keeper, and on the other Roxanne, Victoire and Lucy as chasers, Lily as beater, and Louis as keeper. They had no snitch or seeker, in case the snitch escaped and reached the village. Rose and Albus, who were still against Quidditch somewhat, decided to sit back and watch the others. Brothers and sisters were generally on the opposite team, providing a much more competitive game. Albus and Rose were content with watching, and talking about their imminent arrival at Hogwarts.

"I want to be in Gryffindor," said Albus, as Lily began shouting at Victoire for dropping the Quaffle, because she was afraid of it. Victoire used to be really tomboyish and never afraid of a Quaffle, but she'd become a real girly-girl in recent months.

"I'd like to be in Gryffindor too," said Rose. The game had resumed, and James's team had scored. She began picking at the daisies in the grass, and started on a daisy chain. "But, really, I don't mind what house I'm in."

"As long as it's not Slytherin," Albus reminded her with a shudder. "Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff are all right though."

"I think I'd quite like to be in Ravenclaw," said Rose thoughtfully. She'd lost complete interest in the Quidditch match, in which James's team were ahead by fifty points already.

"We'll find out soon," he sighed.

"Hey, Al," said Rose.

"Yeah?"

"Want to help me with this daisy chain?" she asked him, with a small grin.

He grinned back, though only a little. "All right, if you really want me to, if you really can't manage by yourself…"

They set to work.

"Mum says we're going into Diagon Alley tomorrow, to get my wand," said Rose after a few minutes of silence. "Then it would take me about a second to make a daisy chain."

"Where would the fun be in that?" Albus said, and Rose laughed.

"Oh? Do you find it fun, Al?"

He let go of the chain that had been trailing past his knees. "No, it's quite repetitive. I just thought _you _found it fun. Otherwise you wouldn't have been doing it, would you?"

"Maybe," she replied. "I was just a bit bored with watching them lot argue."

She gestured their family. Lily and James were having a shouting match.

"Just like their namesakes," said Albus softly. "Always arguing."

"Hm," said Rose. "Hopefully they won't be completely like their namesakes."

They returned to watching the game, and before long their grandmother was calling them for lunch in the overgrown garden.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for all the alerts/favourites/reviews! Thanks to everyone who has read so far :)**

_July 2018_

No one in the Potter household got any letters that year. Roxanne and Louis did, and they were almost as excited as James and Albus had been. Lily still looked on enviously, though she kept telling herself that it won't be long. Only a year to go.

"Pass the salt, Ravenclaw," said James.

"Get it yourself," Albus muttered in reply. "And stop referring to me as 'Ravenclaw'."

"But you are a Ravenclaw," said James, grinning. "So why shouldn't I call you a Ravenclaw?"

"James, stop calling your brother 'Ravenclaw'," said Harry wearily. "His name's Albus."

"That's not much better," Albus mumbled under his breath.

It was the first day of the summer holidays, and James had been referring to Albus as 'Ravenclaw' all day. Now, it was evening, and the family had sat down to dinner. It was a dark, gloomy July day, and rain was lashing the windows of the dining room.

"It's so not fair," Lily sighed, gazing out the window. "We've been having lovely weather… until you two came home."

Her brothers said nothing to this.

"Hey, I'm sure it'll all clear up tomorrow," said Ginny reassuringly. "Would you like to come to work with me tomorrow, Lily?"

"No thanks," replied Lily, pulling a face. "I'd much rather spend the day with my darling brothers."

"I'm going to Alexander's house tomorrow," said James immediately.

"And I'm going to Scott's," Albus added.

Lily glared at her brothers. "Will you be at home, daddy?"

"Yes, Lily, I will," Harry assured her. "We can go to Diagon Alley if you want."

"Are there any Quidditch matches on that we could go to?" said Lily.

Harry and Ginny exchanged a quick glance.

"I don't think so," said Ginny. "But going to Diagon Alley's okay, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess so," she sighed. "Hey, dad, can I have an owl?"

Harry nearly choked on his pasta. "An owl? Can't you wait until next year when we get all your stuff for Hogwarts?"

Lily pouted. "I can wait, but I really want an owl! I want a snowy owl, and I want it to be a girl, and I want to call it... Lilybell.'

"That's imaginative," said Albus at the same time as Ginny said: "You don't want much, do you?"

Lily said nothing more on the subject of owls or of going to Diagon Alley.

The next day, her brothers vanished off to their friends' houses, and her mum went off to work, and Lily was left to spend the day with her father and Teddy, who accompanied them to Diagon Alley. Which Lily liked very much. The rain from yesterday had cleared up, and it was a beautifully hot day. They each had an ice cream, and though Harry asked Lily if she wanted to go into the pet shop, she said no thanks.

"I think I'll wait until next year, like you said," she sighed, and Harry was a little relieved that his daughter was finally learning the art of patience.

"Patience is a virtue, Lil,' Teddy added, and she beamed at him.

They ran into James and Alexander outside Quality Quidditch Supplies, deciding whether or not they should pool their money together to buy the newest broomstick, until James caught sight of Harry.

"Actually, Alex, I have a perfectly good racing broom at home, I think I'll save my money for something more useful," he said loudly as Harry, Lily and Teddy went by.

That night, both the boys stayed over at their friends' houses, which meant that Lily had her parents to herself yet again.

"They might as well not be back from Hogwarts," Lily sighed. "It's their turn to have you for hours on end."

"Lily!" Ginny exclaimed. "It's all part of growing up, spending hours away from home. They'll be back soon, and you'll wish they were gone again. Trust me, I know."

Harry said nothing on this subject, so Lily decided to change it.

"Do you think Teddy's going to marry Victoire?"

"I don't know," replied Ginny. "They've only been properly dating for a year... why do you ask?"

"Because all Teddy could talk about today was Victoire. Wasn't it, dad?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, he did. It's like he's only known her a year, and not her whole life."

"I hope I meet someone as amazing as Teddy,' sighed Lily.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure you will," said Ginny. "But hopefully not for a few more years..."

The three Potters lapsed into silence. Rain began to fall heavily again.

"I hope this doesn't keep up, I want to play Quidditch with Hugo, Louis and Roxy tomorrow," Lily added.

Harry and Ginny said nothing. Lily had been complaining a lot lately - apparently it was growing up pains, James had wisely informed them that morning. He said he was experiencing them too.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry that I haven't updated for a while! Thanks again for all the reviews/favourites/alerts :)

_August 2019_

'It's here! It's finally here!'

Lily came rushing into her parents' bedroom, brandishing the envelope high above her head. Both Harry and Ginny were still in bed, asleep, so she placed the letter on the desk and flung open the curtains. Daylight streamed onto the bed, and Harry bolted up right.

'Lily!' he exclaimed while Ginny sat up and rubbed her eyes. 'What time is it?'

'It's half nine,' she replied, hurrying over to the desk and picking up the letter again. 'Don't go back to sleep, I'll just go get James and Al.'

Ten minutes later Lily returned with Albus, who was already up and dressed, and a sleepy, tousle-haired James, who was looking as unhappy at being woken up as his mum.

'What's up then Lily?' Albus asked her.

'My Hogwarts letter is here!' she replied.

'That's great!' Ginny said. 'We were wondering when that would get here. Have you opened it yet?'

'No, I was going to open it in front of all of you,' Lily told her, before slowly and carefully slitting the letter open and unrolling the pieces of parchment inside. With trembling hands she held up the parchment, and read out its contents.

'So when are we going to get my stuff?' Lily demanded when she finished reading the letter. 'Today?'

'Well, I guess so,' Harry replied. 'Do you want us all to come?'

'Yes please!' Lily said, before glancing at her brothers. 'If you two aren't doing anything...'

'No, I'll come,' James said happily. 'What about you, Al?'

'I guess so,' Albus sighed. 'I was going to see Rose and Scorpius.'

'We could go to Diagon Alley with Rose and Hugo,' Harry suggested. 'Since Hugo's getting his letter today.'

'And you could invite Scorpius along,' Ginny added. Harry did not look very enthusiastic at this, but said nothing.

'Yay, I've finally got an owl,' said Lily later that day, smiling at the snowy owl in the cage in her hands.

'Are you still going to call it Lilybell?' James asked her.

'No,' she replied. 'I think I'll call it... um... Athene!'

'That's a good name,' said Harry. 'So where do you want to go next? Do you want to get your wand?'

'Oh, yeah, let's do that next!'

'James Sirius Potter!'

The four of them - Harry, Ginny, James and Lily - stopped. Albus, Rose and Scorpius had gone wandering by themselves, and none of them had just shouted James's name. James turned around, and let a little laugh that sounded like a groan.

'Who is it James?' Ginny asked him.

'Hannah Crawley,' he groaned.

The girl called Hannah came striding over to him, glaring at him.

'H-hi, Hannah,' he stammered. 'Having a good summer?'

'Why did you avoid me on the Hogwarts Express at the end of term?' she demanded.

'I - I didn't avoid you,' said James. 'I was just - um - busy, that's all...'

'Is it because you know that I found out you've been dating Cherry Jones while you've been dating me?' she asked him, her eyes narrowed.

'James!' Ginny exclaimed. Lily had to stop herself laughing.

'I have not been dating Cherry Jones!' he exclaimed. 'I told you, I was busy.'

'Come on Lily, lets go buy your wand while James catches up with his school friend,' Harry said, leading Ginny and Lily away from the scene.

'Oh poor James,' said Rose with a small smile. She, Albus and Scorpius were sitting at a table outside the ice cream parlour, watching Hannah shout at James.

'I wonder who told Hannah?' Albus added. He and Rose both looked at Scorpius.

'What makes you think I told her?' said Scorpius. 'I don't even know Hannah Crawley!'

Albus and Rose were still looking at him, eyebrows raised.

'But Scorpius, James only told me about it,' Albus said. 'And I only told you and Rose.'

'Well,' he began with a sigh. 'I may have mentioned it to one of Hannah's friends, so it's not my fault that they told Hannah!'

And without further ado, he returned to his ice cream.

'Besides,' Scorpius said, when they had all finsihed their ice cream and were walking down Diagon Alley. 'I can't really have fun messing around with either of your love lives, they're non existent.'

Rose came to an abrupt stop, staring at Scorpius incredulously. 'Come on Scorpius, we're only thirteen! There's plenty of time for things like that!'

'Yeah, I'm far too young to be in a relationship,' Albus mumbled. Scorpius laughed.

'Alright, but by this time next year I expect you both to at least have had a crush on someone,' he told them, grinning.

'Ah, Scorpius, you can't force people...' Albus began.

'What about you then, Scorpius?' Rose asked. 'Have you ever had a crush on anyone?'

Scorpius said nothing to this. Meanwhile, outside the Owl Emporium, James had finally escaped from Hannah, and had found Harry, Ginny and Lily leaving the wand shop with Lily's new wand.

'I can't wait to go to school.' Lily told James happily. 'And when I'm there, I'll help protect you from Hannah Crawley, okay?'

James looked taken aback, but then smiled. 'Okay. Thanks Lily.'


End file.
